THE TRUTH ABOUT VESTEY BROS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XI, Issue 199, 16 August 1921, Page 6

THE TRUTH ABOUT VESTEY BROS.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—-I have seen it stated from time to time that Messrs X estey Bros., Lomiou, and the Cnion Cool Storage Company, Ltd., were in some way eon- 1 uected with the so-called American Mcit Trust, whose operations are attracting a good deal of attention in New Zealand at the present time. ! Believing these statements to be ( quite untrue, 1 some time ago wrote * to the financial agents of the Union Cogl Storage Company in London, to whom I am personally known, and by last mail 1 received a reply from them, which seems to give the lie direct to all such statements. 1 believe the far- 1 mers of New Zealand will be glad to read Mr. Carlton’s letter, which was written with the knowledge and approval of Vestey Bros., and 1 hope you will find space to publish this letter in an early issue. —Yours faithfully, W. F. HICKS. r Hastings, August 15th, 1921. (ENCLOSURE.) i 16, Tokenhouse Yard, Lothbury, Lon- I don, E.C. I June 15th, 1921. H Dear Hicks, —You ask me whether the Union Cool Storage Company and « Messrs Vestey Bros, are connected with the Meat Trust, or American meat ring—they are nut —and the lines fi they work upon are entirely different i from, and opposed to, those of the i American ring. t You were associated with our office long enough to know a good deal about the Union Cool Storage Company, and j the new issues of capital we have made r for that company from time to time t during the last twelve or fourteen {1 years (about £5,000,000), and from your knowledge of the purposes for which that capital was provided, you know that none cf it went into the American Meat Trust. The reason that Messrs Vestey have been so successful is that the expenses all through to ’ the actual consumer have been brought to the lowest point. The meat factories, the refrigerated steamers, the cold 1 stores and the retail shops being all 1 under the same control. s Messrs Vestey now control about [ 1,200 retail shops for the sale of im- I ported meat. It is surely a great ad- 1 vantage to New Zealand farmers to j know that the people to whom they sell their meat will handle it right up ] ti tho time it leaves the retail shops, j To state that Messrs Vestey or the 5 Union Cool Storage Company have any | connection with the firms known ns | the Meat Trust is quite untrue, and is y only made for the purpose of creating f prejudice against them. Their success J must naturally make them many ener tes amongst their competitors, and * the rumours you mention are probably 5 tho result. f —Yours fa’thfully. ’ J. E. WATTS CARLTON J